9 Tips on How to Take Charge of Your Own Health

With the great number of diseases that you can develop due to an unhealthy lifestyle, it’s high time you take control of your own health to prevent these dreadful health problems from developing.

Healthcare professionals and medical treatments can only do so much when it comes to treating and improving your health. There is no cheaper and easier way to remain healthy than by living a healthy lifestyle. When it comes to lifestyle diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and kidney diseases, prevention is always easier and, no doubt, better than cure.

Here are some tips that you can follow to help you take charge of your own health and wellness:

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1. Eat the most important meal.

No matter how busy you are with your studies, work, business, or whatever activities you are doing to survive this life, never forget to load your body with enough nutrients and energy. Eating breakfast before starting your day has been shown to improve your health, mental capacity, and overall performance, allowing you to be more productive throughout the day.

2. Allow your body and brain to recharge.

After subjecting your body and your brain to a lot of activities during the day, you have to provide yourself with sufficient time to rest and sleep. Getting quality sleep every day is as essential as food and water when it comes to survival. While you sleep, your body is doing repairs on your muscles. Information and memory are being consolidated; hormones that regulate physiologic processes such as appetite and bone growth are also being released during sleep.

3. Don’t cheat on your diet.

Eating on a diet doesn’t mean that you can only eat a quarter cup of oatmeal a day. The purpose of eating on a diet is to regulate your intake of unhealthy foods that can harm your health in the long run. Opt for a healthy and a balanced diet, complete with energy-giving foods such as carbohydrates and fiber-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables. Protein is also important to facilitate tissue repair. Not all kinds of fat are bad for your health. In fact, vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, so you still need fats to metabolize these vitamins. You should eat foods that provide you with unsaturated fats (instead of saturated fat) because they are healthier. They are found in nuts, olives, vegetables, and some varieties of fish.

4. Be physically active.

Being physically active doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to spend hours at the gym. Going to the gym isn’t the only way to become physically fit. You can be active just by changing little things that you do every day. Try using the stairs instead of the elevator. Don’t just walk; walk briskly. Walk your dog in the morning. You can even engage in outdoor recreational activities or games with family and friends. It is a good way to stay healthy while maintaining a healthy relationship with your loved ones.

5. Monitor your health.

Never forget to monitor your health so that you won’t be caught off guard by a sudden symptom. The guidelines for hypertension have been updated this year, setting the blood pressure goal a little lower. In fact, to be considered normal, you have to have a blood pressure that is lower than 120 systolic and lower than 80 diastolic. Invest in health assessment equipment for home use such as a blood pressure apparatus, a stethoscope, a digital thermometer, and a weighing scale. Weight is also an important indicator because being overweight is a risk factor for lifestyle diseases so better keep your weight in check.

6. Manage your stressors.

Being chronically stressed can be detrimental to your health. For one, being continuously stressed can damage your immune system. Chronic stress can also reduce the quality of your life, change your sleeping pattern, make you depressed, and make you gain (or lose) weight. To manage your stress, find out what’s causing it. Only by finding out the source of stress can you address the problem. If you can’t change the source of stress, maybe you have to change your psychological perception towards it instead.

7. Quit burning your lungs.

Smoking is a major risk factor for common lifestyle diseases and it also increases your risk of developing many types of cancers. If you don’t smoke, avoid inhaling cigarette smoke because secondhand smoke is even worse.

8. Get screened and shot.

Have routine medical checkups with your healthcare provider and ask for personalized advice on how you can further improve your health routines. Get vaccinations to protect yourself from life-threatening complications of seasonal outbreaks.

9. Laugh out loud.

The key to a good life is good emotional and social support. Surround yourself with like-minded, health-conscious people and see how easily your health habits change for the better. Having a good laugh with friends and family is also a good way to relieve stress.